The Journey to Happiness
by TheCaptainandThePostulant
Summary: The von Trapps, as we know, fled from the convent under the cover of night and were next seen on the Untersberg the following morning. What took place in between? Read to find out ;) I swear that the one - shot is better than this lame summary, hehe, so please review if you decide to give it a read! I truly love reviews! Thanks for reading! x


Georg couldn't stop the deep sigh from escaping him as he continued to drive slowly through the dark streets of Salzburg now that he was satisfied that Herr Zeller and his men weren't following he and his family, his hands still trembling somewhat as they were practically glued to the steering wheel and his eyes were fixed solely on the road as the car was silent. He allowed himself to glance briefly through the rear-view mirror a few moments later, a soft smile forming upon his lips as he saw six of his seven beautiful children sleeping soundly as they were snuggled up against one another for added warmth. There weren't words to describe how proud he was of his children for how brave the seven of them had stayed throughout the entire ordeal; how grown up and obedient they had all been. Any order that he or Maria had given them from the moment they had revealed to them that they had no choice but to leave Austria that evening, they had done it immediately without the slightest hesitation. Even little Gretl had done exactly as she was told.

From the moment he had slipped into the drivers seat of his car in order to follow Herr Zeller to the music festival, he had seen the sheer fright in the eyes of his children as the seven of them had been sat in the back seats with Max. Maria had tried to stay as calm and collected as possible for his sake and he would be eternally grateful to her for it, but he had been able to feel her hand trembling in his own as their fingers had been laced in her lap as he drove and she had brushed her thumb soothingly over the smooth skin at the back of his palm. The children and Maria had seemed to have calmed down somewhat by the time they had reached the music hall that evening, but the same couldn't have been said for him. He had felt as though he was going to pass out as he had been waiting in the wings with his family, the children sat together on the floor whilst they watched the singers that were performing, and he knew that he had held Maria a little too tightly when she had lowered herself down into his lap and settled her head upon his shoulder.

His nerves had gotten the better of him when he had attempted to sing Edelweiss to the audience after he and Maria had sung "Do, Re, Mi" with the children for their first song, his voice faltering partway through his solo as he had gazed out at the hundreds of people before him and knew exactly what they were in store for. He knew that some of them would be arrested for refusing to live by the Nazi regime's regulations and he knew that some of them would gladly join Hitler, but just seeing his country come together in such a united way before chaos ensued had made his heart break. He had felt an overwhelming surge of love course through his veins when he had heard his enchanting wife's voice filling the silence, his lips curving up into a gentle smile as she had beckoned for the children to join the two of them on-stage and she had slipped her arm supportively through his as they had sang together. He had seen a tear trickle down Maria's cheek out of the corner of his eye as the audience had begun to sing with them, his heart hurting for her.

It was then that he realized just how much harder it was for Maria to leave Austria than it was for him. He had left Austria many times before when he and Agathe had ventured off to Paris for vacations in the early years of their marriage, but he knew that Austria was all that Maria had ever known. Their honeymoon in Paris was the only time that she'd ever left their homeland and even that was difficult for her, considering everything was so new and different for her, and just seeing her heart break as she had been stood next to him at the music festival had made him want to stop singing and take her into his arms in order to comfort her. She had discreetly wiped the tears from her cheeks when the spotlight had been turned onto Max, however, and Georg had allowed her hand to slip from where it was settled in the crook of his arm in order to take it in his own and warmly squeeze it. The incredible smile that she had afforded him with as her arm had been wrapped around Brigitta's small shoulders had made him fall in love with her all over again.

It was a few moments later when he felt his eyes begin to sting slightly as he continued to drive toward the mountains that would be leading he and his family to safety as soon as dawn came, a soft yawn escaping him as he knew that he needed to find somewhere safe to park the caretaker's car for the evening and get some sleep before he drifted off at the wheel and endangered his family further. He kept his eye out for a secluded area as he continued on down the road, a soft sigh of relief escaping him as a thicket of trees came into view just at the start of the next turning. It wasn't long until he was putting the caretaker's car into park amidst the tall trees that hid it from the sight of anyone who drove by, his eyes closing momentarily as he allowed his head to fall back against the seat and he forced himself to calm down. ' _You're a Captain.'_ He scolded himself. _'Man up.'_ He turned his head slowly to one side a short while later, a sleepy smile forming upon his lips as he took in the sight of his enchanting wife whilst she slept with Gretl in her lap.

Maria's nose was buried gently into Gretl's soft blonde hair as she slept soundly with their daughter held protectively in her arms, her thick dark eyelashes fluttering delicately in her sleep as she let out perfectly soft snores and her lips were slightly parted. Georg found himself unable to resist reaching out and caressing the softness of her cheek, a small smile appearing upon his lips as his wife began to stir and he leaned back in his seat as he watched her rouse slowly. 'Hello, sleepyhead.' He chuckled when her lovely blue eyes fluttered open and she gazed over at him, a gentle yawn escaping her before she covered her mouth with her hand and allowed her head to fall back against her seat. 'I'm sorry for waking you, my love, you need your sleep after the hellish day you've had.' She shook her head quietly in response before kissing the crown of Gretl's delicately, a soft hum of discomfort escaping her as she arched her back slightly. 'Maria, darling, you're going to be in so much pain tomorrow if you sleep like that.' He sighed softly. 'Give her to me.'

Maria didn't move for a moment as she nuzzled the tip of her nose into Gretl's hair and breathed in the heavenly scent of the lavender soap that she used at bath-time, a loving smile forming upon her lips when she carefully began to ease her into Georg's arms and he shushed their daughter soothingly as she whimpered at the sudden movement. 'Ssh, my darling, you go back to sleep.' Georg soothed as Gretl's eyes fluttered open slightly a few moments later and he was cradling her slightly in his arms, a gentle hum escaping her as she turned her face into his chest and began to drift back off as she gripped the thin material of his shirt in the palm of her small hand. 'Sweet dreams, my beautiful girl.' Maria couldn't help but smile as she gazed at her husband whilst he stroked his fingers comfortingly through Gretl's hair, her light blue eyes sparkling enchantingly when he met her gaze with his own and he stopped running his fingers through their daughter's hair to reach out and cup her cheek in the palm of his hand. 'Come here, you.' He murmured.

She leaned forwards slightly, then, a surge of warmth coursing through her veins as she pressed her soft lips against his own in a slow kiss and he stroked the pad of his thumb comfortingly against her cheek. The soft smack of their lips filled the silence of the car a few moments later, Maria sighing lovingly as they parted slowly and she settled back in her seat. 'Where are we?' She frowned as she looked out of her window and saw the mass of trees that surrounded the car, Georg chuckling lovingly as he took her hand in his.

'I'm not 100% sure, my love, but I think we'll make it to the mountains by sunrise if we leave at day-break.' He admitted as he caressed the back of her palm with his thumb. 'I want to thank you, sweetheart, for what you did for me at the music festival tonight.' Maria turned her head slowly towards him as she smiled warmly. 'You rescued me. Again.'

'You would have done the same thing if I was the one in your position, Georg, you know you would.' She spoke softly so not to wake the children. 'I know you're upset, darling.'

'I'm only upset because I feel as though I've failed you and the children, Maria. We've been married for a month-and-a-half now, I think? And I've already failed you.'

'How on earth can you say that?' She whispered. 'You have _not_ failed me!'

'If I had listened when Herr Zeller spoke about the Anschluss; if I hadn't have grumbled when I heard people talking about the Nazis during our engagement, we'd be safe now.' He admitted gently as he slipped his fingers through her own and sighed lovingly as he gazed directly into her eyes. 'I ruined our honeymoon, Maria, how can you not see that?'

'Because you didn't.' She stated matter-of-factly. ' _Hitler_ cut our honeymoon short, Georg, Hitler and the Nazis. I'm also sick to _death_ of hearing Herr Zeller's name said tonight.'

'But, Maria.' He sighed.

'Stop it.' She told him with a simple press of her forefinger against his warm lips. 'I love you, Georg von Trapp, and I won't listen to you blame yourself for something that is out of your control. You are the only man that I have ever met who I've felt protected and loved by, and I can't even begin to explain how incredible that feels.' She admitted softly.

'My gorgeous girl.' He smiled as he stroked her hair soothingly. 'You've been put through so much in the past; I'd hoped your life would be so much easier when we came back.'

'Easy lives are boring.' She teased with a soft giggle. 'I like a bit of an adventure every now and again.'

'I love you.' He chuckled with a slow shake of his head. 'You always know how to make me smile in the worst situations.'

'I hope to do that for the rest of my life.' She whispered, leaning forward to kiss his lips slowly. 'I love you too, sweetheart.'

'I want you to settle down and get some sleep now, my love.' He told her when she leaned back in her seat and she laced their fingers in her lap, the fatigue clear in her eyes. 'I want you to be as rested as possible for tomorrow, because I don't believe I'm going to manage to carry both you _and_ Gretl on my back on those mountains.' He laughed softly.

'Oh, Gretl can walk, surely.' She smirked. 'She's a growing girl, Georg, I was _running_ up mountains at her age.'

'I can't actually explain how much I adore you, you know.' He admitted. 'How much you mean to me.'

'Me either.' She kissed the back of his palm lingeringly. 'But we have the rest of our lives to try and find a way to do that, don't we?'

'We do, darling.' He smiled at the thought. 'And I cannot wait to settle down in Switzerland and start our new life with you and our seven beautiful children.'

'Eight.' She whispered softly, chewing her lower lip gently when she met his gaze and his eyes widened slightly.

'Do you-' He stammered. 'Are we - Are you-' She giggled at his obvious delight at her news.

'Pregnant?' She whispered as she lowered their joined hands to her belly. 'Yes, Georg, I am. I'm going to have your baby, darling!' She giggled tearfully.

'When did you find out?' He whimpered tearfully as he brushed the pad of his thumb lightly against where their baby was slowly growing.

'Yesterday morning when I said I needed to take my pearl necklace to the jewelers.' She sucked her lower lip. 'I never stepped foot into the shop, darling, I went to the doctor.'

'And is everything..?' He raised his brow at her.

'Everything is absolutely fine.' She reassured him as she cupped his cheek. 'With both I _and_ the baby, but I don't want the children to know yet. I want it to be our secret.'

'Come here and kiss me this instant, Baroness von Trapp.' He ordered, Maria giggling sweetly as she pressed her mouth to his and they began to kiss languidly. 'Oh, I love you.'

'I love you too.' She sniffed. 'So, so much.'

As the two of them began to settle down to sleep a few moments later, Georg couldn't help but sigh happily to himself. In just a few hours, as soon as the sun began to rise, he and his beautiful family would be at the foot of the Untersberg. The nine - _ten_ \- of them would be making their way across the mountains to start their new life in Switzerland.

They would be on the journey to happiness.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this little story, and please leave me a review if you did! I am still writing Not A Child Anymore but I am having writer's block at the moment and so I'm thinking of doing some small one-shots to get the creative juices flowing again as they say, hehe. Also, if anyone has any suggestions for more one-shots, please feel free to inbox me! x**


End file.
